The present invention relates to methods and apparatus used for wrapping a tape continuously around and along a pipe in a spiral manner and in particular to methods and apparatus for wrapping a tape including a backing and a liner around a pipe. Pipelines, pipes and other elongate members have been externally covered with a tape for many years. The tapes used for wrapping a pipe include a backing material to which an adhesive is applied to one face of the backing. The tape backing is manufactured in various materials, thicknesses and widths which vary according to the pipeline operating conditions. The tackiness of the adhesive which is applied to the backing also varies. It is common for tapes with a very aggressive adhesive to have a releasable liner applied to the adhesive face of the backing before the tape is wound into a roll on a spool. The liner prevents the adhesive side of the backing from adhering to the non-adhesive side of the backing when the tape is wound into a roll.
Previously when a tape, which included a backing and a liner, was used to wrap a pipeline, the liner would be peeled from the backing and would be discarded as the backing was spirally wrapped around the pipe. Because of the difficulty of handling the liner after removal from the backing, only tapes without a liner were seriously considered for coating pipelines when the tape was to be applied with a motorized tape wrapping machine. In those few instances where a tape with a liner was applied to a pipeline with a motorized tape wrapping machine, the liner would be wound up on a take-up reel and later discarded. Liners have not previously been applied to and wrapped around a pipeline to contribute to the performance of the tape backing and to the further protection of the pipeline.